A Few Deep Breaths, Then Back to Work

Melissa Hearlihy, the Alemany High girls’ basketball coach, exudes dedication to the sport, but she recently stretched even her definition of commitment by returning only five days after undergoing a Cesarean section and giving birth to her first child.

Her son, Joshua, was born Dec. 15. On Dec. 20, Hearlihy coached Alemany in a game in the Simi Valley tournament, which the Indians ultimately won. In all, she missed only four games because of the pregnancy and birth.

“It might have been a little much,” said Hearlihy, who is in her ninth season at Alemany. “But I asked my kids to make a commitment this year, so I felt like I need to do it, too.

“But it wasn’t a piece of cake. The hardest part was that (Joshua) wasn’t sleeping. By the championship game (Dec. 23), I was exhausted.”

Hearlihy has taken a maternity leave from teaching at Alemany until mid-February, but plans to continue coaching throughout the season.

Under Hearlihy, Alemany won a Southern Section II-A title in 1992 and advanced to the III-AA championship game last season.

NORTHWEST VALLEY

The Sky’s the Limit

How good can Reseda be?

Starting guards Trenton Cross and Archie Williams already have said the Regents (12-0) can win the City Section 3-A Division championship.

A rival coach, checking in with a much-more-objective opinion, takes it a step further.

Taft Coach Jim Woodard said that if Reseda knocks off Chatsworth in a much-anticipated conference opener Friday night, the Regents might not lose another game.

“None of the 3-A teams can beat them,” Woodard said.

Under the conference format, Reseda plays the 4-A West Valley League teams--Cleveland, Taft, Kennedy and Chatsworth--once each. The Regents twice will face San Fernando, El Camino Real and Granada Hills--members of Reseda’s 3-A North Valley League--and all have losing records.

Woodard points out that since the City’s 3-A champion does not advance to the state playoffs, the Regents won’t have to face the likes of Crenshaw or Mater Dei in the postseason.

And as far as Taft’s chances against Reseda?

“They’re bigger than us, quicker, shoot the ball better and handle the ball better,” Woodard said. “Other than that. . . .”

*

Part of the secret to Reseda’s blistering start is its success at the free-throw line. The Regents (12-0) are shooting 75% from the line--and several key players have bettered that pace.

Damon Bailey (33 of 37) leads the team at 89.2%, followed by Roderick Jones (32 of 39 for 82.1%), Trenton Cross (54 of 68 for 78.3%) and Archie Williams (40 of 52 for 76.9%).

Bailey, Cross and Williams often rotate at the point position. In last week’s Birmingham tournament final against Grant, Reseda committed only seven turnovers in a 65-57 victory.

“You can’t press ‘em and you can’t foul ‘em,” said Woodard, who watched the game. “What do you do?”

*

Kevin Crider turned heads when he was hired at Cleveland four years ago. Crider, who formerly coached basketball at L.A. High and still lives in the L.A. Basin, often rode his bike to work, a round-trip commute of 60 miles.

About a year ago, though, Crider was given a not-so-subtle indication that his car was a far safer mode of transportation.

While cycling to school at around 5:30 a.m., Crider says, a group of “gangsters” pointed a gun at him from a moving car near Normandie and Melrose.

“I got the message,” Crider said. “I almost got shot.”

*

Granada Hills is off to a 4-7 start, which may not seem like much, but the Highlanders were 3-18 last season and 3-19 the season before.

Under first-year Coach Lou Cicciari, Granada Hills won three of four games heading into conference play this week.

“I think the problem is that the seniors on the team over the past couple of years have really gotten thrashed,” Cicciari said. “They don’t know how to win. I think they’re finally starting to find out.”

GOLDEN LEAGUE

Double Threat

No frills.

That’s the way Al Lairson liked it during football season and the way he wants it for basketball. No trinkets, no baubles, no bells and no whistles.

“His claim to fame is that he wouldn’t tape his ankles and won’t wear T-shirts under his pads or anything,” Palmdale Coach Garry Phelps said.

No tape on the ankles for basketball, either. There is a notable common thread between the sports: Lairson might be the best player on either team.

Last fall, he caught a league-high 56 passes for 765 yards and was the team’s kicker. In basketball, Lairson, an honor student, has posted team-high marks of 15.6 points and 6.3 rebounds per game.

EAST VALLEY LEAGUE

Out of Bounds

Don’t be misled by North Hollywood’s 6-5 start. The Huskies are still one of the premier teams in the City. All of their losses have been to teams from outside the state.

Consider the defeats:

1. East Anchorage in the Alaska tournament. North Hollywood lost by 29 points to a team ranked No. 1 in the state that features Duke-bound Trajan Langdon.

2. Science Hill of Tennessee in the Alaska tournament. Trailing by 11 after three quarters, the Huskies rallied but lost, 73-70, to a team that finished second in the 1993 Tennessee state tournament.

3. Payson (Utah) in the Las Vegas tournament. The Huskies rallied from a 15-point deficit and reclaimed the lead only to lose on a short jump shot at the buzzer. Payson is ranked No. 3 in Utah.

4. Miami Norland in the Las Vegas tournament. North Hollywood lost to the third-ranked team in Florida by 22 points.

5. Decatur of Washington in the Las Vegas tournament. The state’s second-ranked team intercepted North Hollywood’s inbound pass and converted it into a dunk to win, 45-43, as time expired.

Is Coach Steve Miller disappointed with the Huskies’ near-.500 start? No, not really.

“I think those games down the line are going to help us,” Miller said.

North Hollywood was 51-3 in its two previous seasons, but winning games is not all it’s cracked up to be, according to Miller.

“It’s got us nothing the last two years,” Miller said.

North Hollywood did not advance past the quarterfinals the past two seasons.

DEL REY LEAGUE

Ho Hum, Another Upset

It’s becoming an annual event.

St. John Bosco, one of the Southland’s best high school basketball teams, goes through its nonleague schedule with one loss, then opens the league season by being upset at St. Francis.

The Golden Knights beat the Braves, 59-54, on Monday night, improving to 10-4 and dropping St. John Bosco to 13-2. Last season, St. Francis won, 64-62, despite entering the game with a 5-7 record. After that victory, the Golden Knights won 10 of their next 12. The team heated up before the St. John Bosco game this year, winning eight of nine after starting 1-3.

Senior Braden Weber (6-foot-8, 223 pounds) led St. Francis with 24 points against St. John Bosco. Weber had just been named most valuable player in the Chaminade tournament, which the Golden Knights won last week.

Jelani Gardner, St. John Bosco’s standout forward, scored 30 points, but St. Francis held the rest of the team to 24.

PACIFIC LEAGUE

Any Volunteers?

Glendale got off to a 12-4 start despite having players missing with injuries or illness in every game. The Dynamiters have played this season with as few as eight players.

The absences have made five-on-five practices difficult. Coach Bob Davidson has been forced to recruit junior varsity players for practice.

“It hasn’t gotten so bad that I’ve had to suit up, though,” Davidson said.

FOOTHILL LEAGUE

May Dishes to Spindt

Top-ranked Hart has jumped to a 15-1 start with no superstars and a lot of teamwork. With point guard Eric Spindt leading a pass-happy half-court offense, the Indians average about 15 assists per game.

That’s one key to Hart’s success. The other is defense. And for that, Coach Mike May gives an assist to Spindt--not Eric Spindt but his father, Gary Spindt.

The elder Spindt, a teacher at Hart, spent the summer of 1992 teaching man-to-man defense to the players while the Hart administration was deciding on a new coach. Spindt was a candidate. When May got the job, he asked Spindt to be his assistant and to continue his work teaching defense.

“Sometimes that’s a touchy situation, but it worked,” May said. “Our philosophies were the same in terms of defense. We were on the same page.”

*

Burbank Coach Jeff Davis is making no excuses for the Bulldogs’ 5-8 record but he said his players sometime have difficulty concentrating in practice. That’s because college recruiters--sometimes head coaches--have frequented the afternoon workouts to see Willie Perryman.

Perryman, a 6-4, 215-pound tight end and linebacker on the football team who plays forward on the basketball team, is being recruited by several Pacific-10 Conference schools. Davis said Perryman is leaning toward USC, but he hasn’t decided yet. He received a house call from Wisconsin Coach Barry Alvarez on Monday.

MARMONTE LEAGUE

We’ll Watch, Thanks

What if they organized a tournament and nobody came?

Royal pulled an unusual no-show at a recent boys’ soccer tournament--the first Royal Invitational. Because of a scheduling conflict, the Highlanders--hosts and sponsors of the tournament--could not participate.

The mix-up occurred because longtime Simi Valley Coach Andy Silva resigned at the end of last season and became a Royal assistant this season. Silva brought the tournament he organized--the Simi Valley Invitational--with him and renamed it the Royal Invitational.

The only problem? Royal already had scheduled its quota of matches for December and playing in its own tournament would have put it over the limit.

“We tried to switch some of our nonleague matches but we couldn’t do it,” Royal Coach Kevin Corley said. “But we’ll be in it next year.”

For the record, Moorpark won.

*

The Royal boys’ soccer team won the Don Lugo tournament last week by beating four undefeated teams, including powerful Chino. Jeff Smilen, who has five goals this season, was the tournament’s most valuable player.

Nick Butcher (11 goals) and Tim Pederson (six goals) also have had excellent seasons for the Highlanders (13-1-1).

CAMINO REAL LEAGUE

Streak Redux?

Last season, the Bell-Jeff girls’ basketball team lost two games early in the season, then won 26 in a row.

This season, Bell-Jeff lost three games early, but has currently won six in a row. Coach Jim Couch is eyeing a similar strong finish.

“If things go well, we can win the next 14 in league,” Couch said. “That would be a 20-game streak. I’ll settle for that this year.”

The Guards are led by Cathy Flores (16.8 points per game), Christina Ticsay (13.1) and Carrie Breedlove (18 rebounds per game).

CHANNEL LEAGUE

Painful Setback

The Ventura girls’ basketball team suffered a blow when standout guard Ember Brown suffered an ankle injury Dec. 23 that will sideline her for at least three weeks.

Doctors believe Brown, a 5-foot-8 junior, has a hairline fracture of her right ankle, said Cougar Coach Glenn Gray, though X-rays were inconclusive.

“But they’re taking no chances,” Gray said.

Brown leads Ventura in scoring, averaging 16.4 points a game. She was a Times All-Ventura County pick and an all-state sophomore team selection last season.

“We’ll have to see what we’re made of,” Gray said. “Someone has to step up and put the ball in the hole. Maybe this will make us a better team down the road.”

Around the Leagues. . . .

* Reseda Coach Jeff Halpern has won the championship of the Birmingham basketball tournament with three different schools. He won as coach of Van Nuys in 1984-85, Birmingham in 1986-87 and Reseda in 1993-94. The Regents (12-0) already have won three tournament titles this season.

* Sylmar’s Michael Farmer, who is averaging 16.1 points a game, has 132 assists in 11 games.

* Normally an excellent outside-shooting team, Crescenta Valley made only five of 30 three-point shots as the Falcons lost, 74-66, to Pacifica in the Anaheim Canyon tournament.

* When Harvard-Westlake played in the Covina tournament last year, the Wolverines lost all four games by a combined 75 points. This season, the Wolverines won all four games by a combined 37 points.

* Harvard-Westlake statistician Lee Garson points out that the Wolverines were 13-13 in 1993. Harvard was 1-13 at the end of the 1992-93 season, but started the 1993-94 season 12-0.

* Poly (5-4) is the only team in the five-team Mid-Valley League above the .500 mark after posting a 5-14 record last season. The Parrots have won three in a row and have 98 steals in nine games, but Poly averages 17 turnovers a game.

* The Royal boys’ soccer team set a Marmonte League record of 26 consecutive league games without a loss (26) by defeating Channel Islands on Tuesday. Simi Valley set the previous record of 25 in 1985-86.

Kennedy Cosgrove and staff writers Steve Elling, Jeff Fletcher, Dana Haddad, Paige A. Leech and Jason H. Reid contributed to this notebook.

Basketball Top 10

Rankings of Valley-area high schools by sportswriters of The Times:

Rk LW Team League W-L 1 5 Hart Foothill 15-1 2 6 Reseda North Valley 12-0 3 8 Harvard-Westlake Mission 12-0 4 1 North Hollywood East Valley 6-5 5 NR Palmdale Golden 10-3 6 2 Simi Valley Marmonte 10-3 7 7 Glendale Pacific 12-4 8 NR St. Francis Del Rey 10-4 9 9 Westlake Marmonte 6-2 10 4 Thousand Oaks Marmonte 10-3